ResilienceSelf-Help Books

Some persons survive hardship and extreme suffering in childhood and move ahead to live creative, energetic lives, while others face difficulties and seem not to thrive. What makes the difference?

The books in this section on Resilience explore this phenomenon, and describe the variables which contribute to resilience and hardiness: the ability to transform suffering into learning, growth and spiritual development.

Recommended Self Help Books on Resilience

In this remarkable self help book, Dr. Muller suggests that our woundedness contains powerful resources for healing and spiritual growth. Written with compassion and insight, the book offers exercises and meditations to aid the healing process. 1993, Fireside

According to noted psychologist Seligman, thirty percent of American children suffer from depression. His studies demonstrate that pessimistic children are at much higher risk for becoming depressed than optimistic children. His purpose in this self help book is to teach parents how to instill in their children a sense of optimism and personal mastery. He proposes that self esteem comes from mastering challenges, overcoming frustration, and experiencing individual achievement. This self help book offers a concrete plan of action based on techniques of self-evaluation and social interaction. 1996, Perennial

The authors conclude that a child?s resilience grows its deepest roots in the home, nurtured by parents who incorporate healthy doses of empathy, practical optimism, respect, unconditional love, keen listening skills, and the patience to administer these values every day. This self help book includes detailed steps for rewriting negative parenting scripts, teaching and modeling empathy, and creating opportunities for kids to act responsibly and compassionately. 2002, McGraw Hill

Shatte and Reivich see resilience as a habit of mind and promise you can boost your resilience by changing the way you think about adversity. They offer seven practical strategies for bouncing back. ?The secret is accurate thinking, not positive thinking,? they explain. 2003, Three Rivers Press

While on the campaign trail, Elizabeth Edwards met many others who have had to contend with serious adversity in their lives, and in Resilience, she draws on their experiences as well as her own, crafting an unsentimental and ultimately inspirational meditation on the gifts we can find among life?s biggest challenges. This short, powerful, pocket-sized inspirational book makes an ideal gift for anyone dealing with difficulties in their life, who can find peace in knowing they are not alone, and promise that things can get better. 2010, Broadway

This self help book teaches readers how to learn from their hardships by using practices based on the theories of Jung and psychoanalysis and the teachings of Buddhism. Young-Eisendrath tells the stories of people who have faced tremendous pain and suffering and who have come through it. 1997, Addison-Wesley

How is it that some people can transcend even the most harsh and painful past? Dr. Rubin tells the life stories of adults who were scarred by the worst kinds of family and social pathologies as children, yet found the strength to endure and live rich and satisfying adult lives. Through their life stories she provides new insight into human development and shows readers how they too can overcome their own personal trauma. 1997, Perennial